# The Defenders (comic book)

The Defenders is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Defenders and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original The Defenders comic book series which debuted in 1972.

## Publication history

The Defenders first appeared as a feature in Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971). Due to the popularity of their tryout in Marvel Feature, Marvel soon began publishing The Defenders. Writer Steve Englehart has stated that he added the Valkyrie to the Defenders in issue #4 "to provide some texture to the group." Englehart wrote "The Avengers–Defenders War" crossover in The Avengers #116–118 (October–December 1973) and The Defenders #9–11 (October–December 1973). Len Wein briefly wrote the series, and later became the editor for several issues.
Steve Gerber first worked on the characters in Giant-Size Defenders #3 (January 1975) and became the writer of the main title with issue #20 the following month. He wrote the series until issue #41 (November 1976). In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Gerber and Sal Buscema's run on The Defenders first on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels".
David Anthony Kraft's run as writer included "The Scorpio Saga" (issues #46, 48–50) and the "Xenogenesis: Day of the Demons" storyline (issues #58–60). Kraft later recalled that reactions to the off-beat humor in his "Defender for a Day" storyline in issues #62–64 were polarized: "readers were either wildly enthusiastic or absolutely and very utterly appalled."
Steven Grant wrote a conclusion to Steve Gerber's Omega the Unknown series in two issues of The Defenders, at the end of which most of the original series' characters were killed.
Writer J. M. DeMatteis took over the series with issue #92. Coming from a background of writing eight-page horror shorts for DC Comics, DeMatteis found it a struggle to adapt to writing a 22-page superhero comic on a monthly basis. He and Mark Gruenwald co-wrote The Defenders #107–109 (May–July 1982). While working on the series, DeMatteis developed a strong friendship with penciler Don Perlin, who would draw the series for nearly half its run. Perlin later commented, "It turned out to be a real fun book because you got a chance to draw almost every character Marvel had at one time or another." He has also stated that Kim DeMulder, who inked issues #122-144 apart from a few fill-ins, is his preferred inker after himself. .
During his run, Perlin recalled, he became what he has characterized as "the first guy, unwittingly, to put profanity in [Comics Code-approved] comics":
   This happened in one [issue] of The Defenders. There was a character in there who was a lawyer for the Defenders and his gimmick was that no matter where you saw him in his office, there had to be a TV set on—he was always watching TV. And while I was drawing one of the panels I was listening to a talk show and there was someone on telling how bad cereals for kids were—they were all loaded with sugar. So I drew a picture on the TV of a bunny rabbit holding a box of cereal and across the label where the name of the cereal would be I pencilled in "shit". So I figured, because I used to write nutty comments in the borders and stuff, I thought they'd get a laugh out of it and change it. So they gave it to [Peru-born inker] Pablo Marcos and I don’t know if he knew how to read English or not but he inked it. I walked in one day [to Marvel] ... and [editor-in-chief Jim] Shooter started yelling, "What did you do? Look at it! They called me upstairs and showed me this," and I said, "Wait a minute. That thing goes through an assistant editor, an editor, a proofreader and then you’re supposed to read it. And no one picked it up so don't blame me." So what happened was he said fine, just don't write anymore comments on your pages.

### The New Defenders

Suffering from creative burnout on the series, DeMatteis felt a change was needed. As of issue #125, The Defenders was retitled to The New Defenders as the original four members (Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer, the Hulk, and Namor) are forced to leave the team. The "New Defenders" concept provided a substantial boost to the series's sales, but left DeMatteis in a creative drought, as he realized in retrospect that "...I created a book that was exactly the kind of the thing that I hated to write. I made it into a standard superhero team..." DeMatteis stayed on for only six issues of The New Defenders before turning it over to writer Peter Gillis.
The series's final issue was The New Defenders #152. Penciler Don Perlin recounted "[Editor] Carl Potts he took me and Peter Gillis to lunch. We went to an Indian restaurant... He said, ‘They canceled the book.’"

### Secret Defenders

In 1993, Marvel sought to revive the "Defenders" brand as "The Secret Defenders". The new team first appeared, unofficially, in Dr. Strange #50 and later Fantastic Four #374, before being officially introduced in Secret Defenders #1.

### Reunion and The Order

In 2001–2002, The Defenders reunited in The Defenders volume 2 #1–12 created by Kurt Busiek and Erik Larsen, immediately followed by The Order #1–6. A fill-in issue set between these two series was published in 2011.

### 2005 Mini-series

A Defenders five-issue mini-series debuted in July 2005, by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire (as a team, best known for their work on DC's Justice League franchise), featuring Doctor Strange attempting to reunite the original four Defenders to battle Dormammu and Umar. This series focuses mostly on humor as the characters spend most of their time arguing with and criticizing one another. The series was later collected into both hardcover and trade paperback collections, entitled Defenders: Indefensible.

### The Last Defenders

In 2008 Joe Casey wrote a new miniseries with a new line-up of Defenders as a result of the Super-Human Registration Act and the events of the Civil War.

### 2011 series

Marvel launched a new Defenders series in December 2011, written by Matt Fraction and drawn by Terry Dodson. The new book features Doctor Strange, Red She-Hulk, Namor, the Silver Surfer and Iron Fist. The new series follows the reunion of the Defenders in Fear Itself: The Deep. The series was cancelled at issue #12.

### The Fearless Defenders

February 2013 saw the debut of The Fearless Defenders, a series written by Cullen Bunn with artwork by Will Sliney. Bunn said that he had wanted to write the series, which centers on a new team of Valkyrior, led by Valkyrie and Misty Knight, after writing Fear Itself: The Fearless. It was suggested to him that it should run as a Defenders title, however Bunn explained that beyond the name there is "little connection" to the Defenders.

### 2017 series

In August 2017, Marvel launched a new Defenders comic book series starring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist, based on the Netflix incarnation of the team.

### 2021 series

In August 2021, Marvel launched a new Defenders series.

## Contributors
### Vol. 1 (1972–1986)
#### Writers

| Years | Writer | Issues |
| 1972-1973 | Steve Englehart | #1–11 |
| 1973, 1974-1975 | Len Wein | #7, #12-19 |
| 1975, 1978 | Chris Claremont | #19, #57 |
| 1975-1976 | Steve Gerber | #20–29, #31–41, Annual #1 |
| 1975 | Bill Mantlo | #30 |
| 1976-1977, 1978 | Gerry Conway | #42-45, #57 |
| 1977 | Roger Slifer | #44-47 |
| 1977-1979, 1980 | David Anthony Kraft | #44–56, #58–68, #89 |
| 1977 | John Warner | #47 |
| 1977 | Don McGregor | #48 |
| 1978-1981 | Ed Hannigan | #59, #67-68, #70-75, #78-91 |
| 1979 | Jo Duffy | #69 |
| 1979 | Jim Shooter | #69 |
| 1979, 1980, 1983 | Steven Grant | #76-77, #89, #119 |
| 1979, 1980, 1982 | Mark Gruenwald | #77, #89, #108-109, #111 |
| 1981-1984 | J. M. DeMatteis | #92-118, #120-131 |
| 1982-1983 | Don Perlin | #113-114, #121 |
| 1984-1986 | Peter B. Gillis | #131-152 |

#### Pencilers

| Years | Penciler | Issues |
| 1972-1976, 1978, 1983-1985 | Sal Buscema | #1–29, #31–41, #62–64, #119, #127, #148, Annual #1 |
| 1975 | Sam Grainger | #30 |
| 1976-1977 | Keith Giffen | #42-54 |
| 1977 | Michael Golden | #53-54 |
| 1977-1978 | Dave Cockrum | #53, #57 |
| 1978 | Carmine Infantino | #55-56 |
| 1978 | George Tuska | #57 |
| 1978-1979, 1980 | Ed Hannigan | #58-61, #66-67, #79 |
| 1978, 1980-1986 | Don Perlin | #65, #82-118, #120–125, #129, #132, #134–145, #147, #149–152 |
| 1979-1980 | Herb Trimpe | #68-81 |
| 1983-1984 | Alan Kupperberg | #126, #128, #131, #133 |
| 1984 | Mike Zeck | #130 |
| 1985 | Luke McDonnell | #146 |

## Collected editions
### Marvel Masterworks Defenders

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Volume 1 | Sub-Mariner #34–35, Marvel Feature #1–3, The Defenders #1–6 | 2008 | ISBN 978-0785130444 |
| Volume 2 | The Defenders #7–16, Giant-Size Defenders #1, The Avengers #115–118 | 2011 | ISBN 978-0785142164 |
| Volume 3 | The Defenders #17–21, Giant-Size Defenders #2–4, Marvel Two-In-One #6–7 | 2012 | ISBN 978-0785159612 |
| Volume 4 | The Defenders #22–30, Giant-Size Defenders #5, Marvel Super-Heroes #18 | 2014 | ISBN 978-0785166276 |
| Volume 5 | The Defenders #31–41, The Defenders Annual #1, Marvel Treasury Edition #12 | 2015 | ISBN 978-0785191827 |
| Volume 6 | The Defenders #42-57, material From FOOM #19 | 2018 | ISBN 978-1302909581 |
| Volume 7 | The Defenders #58-75, material From Marvel Treasury Edition #16 | 2020 | ISBN 978-1302922269 |
| Volume 8 | The Defenders #76-91, material from Tales to Astonish #13 | 2022 | ISBN 978-1302933302 |
| Volume 9 | The Defenders #92-102, Marvel Team-Up #101 | 2024 | |

### Defenders Omnibus

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Volume 1 | Sub-Mariner #34–35, Marvel Feature #1–3, The Defenders #1–19, Giant-Size Defenders #1-2, The Avengers #115–118 | 2021 | ISBN 978-1302928599 |
| Volume 2 | The Defenders #20-41 and Annual #1, Giant-Size Defenders #3-5, Marvel Two-in-One #6-7 and Marvel Treasury Edition #12, plus material from Mystery Tales #21, World of Fantasy #11 and Tales of Suspence #9 | 2023 | ISBN 978-1302948771 |

### Essential Defenders

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Volume 1 | The Defenders #1–14, Doctor Strange #183, Sub-Mariner #22, 34–35, The Incredible Hulk #126, Marvel Feature #1–3, and The Avengers #115–118 | 2005 | ISBN 978-0785115472 |
| Volume 2 | The Defenders #15–30, Giant-Size Defenders #1–5, Marvel Two-in-One #6–7, Marvel Team-Up #33–35, and Marvel Treasury Edition #12 | 2006 | ISBN 978-0785121503 |
| Volume 3 | The Defenders #31–60 and The Defenders Annual #1 | 2007 | ISBN 978-0785126966 |
| Volume 4 | The Defenders #61–91 | 2008 | ISBN 978-0785130611 |
| Volume 5 | The Defenders #92–106, Marvel Team-Up #101, 111, 116, Captain America #268 | 2010 | ISBN 978-0785145370 |
| Volume 6 | The Defenders #107–124, The New Defenders #125, The Avengers Annual #11, Marvel Team-Up #119 | 2011 | ISBN 978-0785157540 |
| Volume 7 | The New Defenders #126–139, Iceman #1–4, Beauty and the Beast #1–4 | 2013 | ISBN 978-0785184058 |

### Marvel Epic collections

| Title | Volume | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| The Defenders: Day of the Defenders | 1 | Doctor Strange #183; Sub-Mariner #22, 34-35; Incredible Hulk #126; Marvel Feature #1-3; Defenders #1-11; Avengers #116-118; material from Avengers #115 | 2022 | ISBN 978-1302933562 |
| The Defenders: The Six Fingered Hand | 6 | The Defenders #92-109; Marvel Team-Up #101; Captain America #268 | 2016 | ISBN 978-0785195993 |
| The Defenders: Ashes To Ashes | 7 | The Defenders #110-125; Avengers Annual #11 | 2017 | ISBN 978-1302904289 |
| The Defenders: The New Defenders | 8 | The Defenders #126–137; Iceman #1–4; Beauty and the Beast #1–4 | 2018 | ISBN 978-1302912031 |
| The Defenders: The End Of All Songs | 9 | The Defenders #138–152; Gargoyle #1–4 | 2019 | ISBN 978-1302920708 |

### Other Volume One collected editions

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| The Defenders: Tournament of Heroes | The Defenders #62-65 | 2012 | |
| Omega the Unknown Classic | Omega the Unknown #1-10 and The Defenders #76-77 | 2006 | 978-0785120094 |
| Avengers/Defenders War | The Defenders #8–11 and The Avengers #115–118 | 2002 (TPB) 2007 (HC) | 978-0785108443 (TPB) 978-0785127598 (HC) |
| The New Defenders Volume 1 | The Defenders #122–124 and The New Defenders #125–131 | 2012 | 978-0785162469 |

### The Secret Defenders

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Doctor Strange and the Secret Defenders | Secret Defenders #1-11 | 2016 | ISBN 978-1302901080 |
| Thanos: Cosmic Powers | Secret Defenders #12-14, Cosmic Powers #1-6 | 2015 | ISBN 978-0785198178 |
| Deadpool and the Secret Defenders | Secret Defenders #15-25 | 2017 | ISBN 978-1302904173 |

### Defenders volume 3

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Defenders: Indefensible | The Defenders (volume 3) #1-5 | 2006 (HC) 2007 (TPB) | ISBN 978-0785121527 (HC) ISBN 978-0785117629 (TPB) |

### The Last Defenders

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| The Last Defenders | The Last Defenders #1-6 | 2008 | ISBN 978-0785125075 |

### The Defenders by Matt Fraction (volume 4)

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Volume 1 | The Defenders vol. 4 #1–6, material from Point One #1, and Fear Itself #7 | 2012 | ISBN 978-0785158516 |
| Volume 2 | The Defenders vol. 4 #7–12 | 2013 | ISBN 978-0785158530 |

### The Fearless Defenders

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Volume One - Doom Maidens | The Fearless Defenders #1-6 | 2013 | ISBN 978-0785168485 |
| Volume Two - The Most Fabulous Fighting Team of All | The Fearless Defenders #7-12 | 2014 | ISBN 978-0785168492 |

### The Defenders by Brian Michael Bendis (volume 5)

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Volume 1 - Diamonds Are Forever | Defenders story from Free Comic Book Day 2017, The Defenders vol. 5 #1-5 | 2017 | ISBN 978-1846538674 |
| Volume 2 - Kingpins of New York | The Defenders vol. 5 #6-10 | 2018 | ISBN 978-1302907471 |

### The Best Defense

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| The Best Defense | The Immortal Hulk The Best Defense #1, Namor The Best Defense #1, The Silver Surfer The Best Defense #1, Doctor Strange The Best Defense #1, The Defenders The Best Defense #1 | 2019 | ISBN 978-1302916145 |

### Defenders by Al Ewing (volume 6)

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Defenders: There Are No Rules | Defenders vol. 6 #1-5 | 2022 | ISBN 978-1302924720 |
| Defenders: Beyond | Defenders: Beyond #1-5 | 2023 | ISBN 978-1302946715 |

### Other

| Title | Material collected | Year | ISBN |
| Hulk, Vol. 3: Hulk No More (collects the "Defenders vs. Offenders" storyline) | Hulk #10–12 plus #13 and #600 | 2009 (HC) 2010 (TPB) | ISBN 978-0785139836 (HC) ISBN 978-0785140528 (TPB) |
| The Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #19: Ghosts of the Past (collects The Return of the Defenders storyline) | The Incredible Hulk #397-406, Annual #18-19; material from: Namor the Sub-Mariner Annual #2; Silver Surfer Annual #5; Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Annual #2; Marvel Holiday Special #2 | 2015 | ISBN 978-0785192992 |
| Namor the Sub-Mariner by John Byrne and Jae Lee Omnibus (collects The Return of the Defenders storyline) | Namor, the Sub-Mariner #1-40, Annual #1-2; material from Incredible Hulk Annual #18; Silver Surfer Annual #5; Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme Annual #2 | 2019 | ISBN 978-1302919665 |